Wife Practicing Witchcraft on Husband

  “They followed what the shayateen (devils) gave out (falsely of the magic) in the lifetime of Sulayman. Sulayman did not disbelieve, but the shayateen (devils) disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down at Babylon to the two angels, Harut and Marut, but neither of these two (angels) taught anyone (such things) till they had said, ‘We are for trial, so disbelieve not (by learning this magic from us).’ And from these (angels) people learn that by which they cause separation between man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by Allah’s leave. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Hereafter. And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own selves, if they but knew.”[2:102] 

This ayah (verse) indicates that witchcraft is kufr (disbelief) and that the one who practices it is a kafir. Those who practice witchcraft learn that which harms them and does not benefit them. One of their aims is to separate a man and wife, and they will have no chance before Allah on the Day of Resurrection – i.e., they will have no hope of salvation. According to a saheeh hadeeth (authentic narration) narrated from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), he said, “Avoid the seven things which will lead to doom.” He was asked, “What are they, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Associating anything with Allah; witchcraft; killing a soul whom Allah has forbidden us to kill unlawfully; consuming riba (usury, interest); consuming the orphan’s wealth; fleeing the battlefield; and slandering chaste but innocent believing women.” 

With regard to the Shaykh who gave you the remedy, it appears that he is a practitioner of witchcraft like the woman, because no one knows about actions of witchcraft except others who do the same. He is also one of the fortune-tellers and soothsayers who are known for their claims to know many matters of the unseen. The Muslim must beware of them and not believe their claims to know the unseen, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to a fortune-teller and asks him about anything, his prayers will not be accepted for forty days.” [Muslim]. 

And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever comes to a fortune-teller or soothsayer and believes what he says has disbelieved in that which was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).”  So you have to repent and regret what you have done, and tell the head of the organization and the head of the court about this Shaykh and your old wife, so that the court and organization will take action to deter them. 

If something like this happens to you again then ask the scholars of sharee’ah (Islamic law) to tell you of the remedy prescribed in sharee’ah. If what happened to you has now gone, then praise be to Allah, otherwise let us know so that we can tell you of the remedy prescribed in sharee’ah. May Allah bless you and us with understanding of Islam and steadfastness in our religion, and may He keep us safe from that which goes against it, for He is the Most Generous, Most Kind. And peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

Eating seven dates in the morning and the impact of believing in that on the healing effect

Firstly: Al-Bukhaari (5445) and Muslim (2047) narrated from Sa‘d ibn Abi Waqqaas that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever eats seven ‘ajwah dates in the morning, will not be harmed by any poison or witchcraft that day.”

Most of the scholars are of the view that this applies only to the dates of Madinah, and specifically to a particular type of the dates of Madinah, namely ‘ajwah dates, which grow in ‘Aaliyat al-Madinah. This is most likely to be correct, and it is the apparent meaning of the hadith.

Some scholars are of the view that it is general in meaning, and that all types of dates are efficacious against poison and witchcraft. Among those who were of this view among contemporary scholars are Shaykh ‘Abd ar-Rahmaan as-Sa‘di, Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Azeez ibn Baaz, and Shaykh Muhammad ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on them). This has been discussed previously in question no. 205041.

Some of the scholars are of the view that the hadith applies specifically to the people of Madinah and those in the vicinity, because of their physical makeup which is accustomed to that environment.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This hadith is addressed to a specific audience, such as the people of Madinah and those in the vicinity.End quote from Zaad al-Ma‘aad (4/90).

Secondly: The hadith clearly states that eating dates in the morning is efficacious in warding off witchcraft before it occurs, but it is not far-fetched to suggest that they would also have the effect of removing it after it occurred, especially since it is well-known that witchcraft may be undone by means of treatment with remedies and ruqyah as prescribed in sharee‘ah, so the sorcerer would have to repeat the spell that he cast on that person. For that reason, the sick person should persist in eating seven dates every morning until he is fully recovered and so that he may be safe in the future – by Allah’s leave – from the harm of sorcerers and devils.

Thirdly: The one who acts in accordance with these hadiths may find the effect of protection against poison and witchcraft, even if he does not believe in it, as it says in the story of the one who was stung by a scorpion [who was a disbeliever], who was treated with ruqyah by reciting Soorat al-Faatihah over him.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

This hadith refers to achieving healing by reciting al-Faatihah over the person who had been stung, so that he no longer needed regular medicine, and perhaps it healed him far better than regular medicine could have done, even though the recipient of the treatment was not the best candidate, either because the people of this tribe were not Muslim or because they were miserly and mean people. So how about if he had been a good candidate for such treatment?

End quote from Madaarij as-Saalikeen (1/79).

But having faith in the remedy will make it more effective and will make one more receptive to healing. This applies to all types of medicine, but in the case of psychological disease it is more effective than in the case of physical disease.

Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:

Many remedies are more effective if one has faith in them and takes them willingly and happily. People have seen wonders in that regard, because in that case human nature is highly receptive to medicine, and  the soul feels joy in having it, which revives the patient’s strength and reinforces his natural defences, causing his body’s resources to come together to resist disease and ward off the harm. On the other hand, many medicines may be effective for a particular disease, but what nullifies their effect is if the patient does not believe in the remedy and his body does not accept it, so it does not help him at all.

You may think of the greatest medicines and remedies, and the most beneficial for hearts and bodies, and the most useful in this world and the hereafter, namely the Qur’an which is healing for every disease, and how it does not benefit hearts that do not believe that it contains healing and benefit; rather it only increases them in (spiritual) sickness. There is no medicine that could heal hearts more effectively than the Qur’an, for it brings complete healing for hearts that does not leave any sickness behind, but it cures it, and it preserves (spiritual) health in perfect order, granting full protection from every harmful thing.

In spite of that, the fact that most hearts turn away from it (the Qur’an) and do not have firm belief in it, when there is no doubt that it is a healing, and they fail to use it and ignore it in favour of other medicines that are put together by human beings, prevents hearts from attaining healing; habits and customs take over, aversion becomes greater, chronic diseases and sickness become entrenched in people’s hearts, and patients and doctors become accustomed to human remedies and what their shaykhs and those whom they venerate and hold in high esteem prescribe for them, thus the calamity is exacerbated and the disease worsens. Zaad al-Ma‘aad (4/92).